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Tuesday, November 7, 2000
Sprewell suit against NBA, Warriors snubbed
Associated Press
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Calling it a "baseless complaint," a
federal appeals court declined Tuesday to reinstate Latrell
Sprewell's $30 million suit against the NBA and his former team,
the Golden State Warriors.
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| Sprewell |
An arbitrator cut Sprewell's suspension from a year to 68 games
and overturned the Warriors' decision to terminate the last three
years of his contract. The legal action followed a 1997 spat with
coach P.J. Carlesimo during a practice in which witnesses said the
player grabbed the coach around the neck and threatened to kill
him.
Sprewell's suit claimed he was the victim of racial
discrimination and said the arbitrator only could uphold or reject
the suspension in its entirety.
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker first dismissed the suit in
1998, saying its allegations were too vague to prove any legal
violations. He said Sprewell should consider dropping the case, but
gave him one more chance to make his allegations more specific.
Walker dismissed the new complaint last year, saying the refiled
suit was virtually the same as the first, meritless suit.
Sprewell's claims, even if proven, would not show that the
Warriors or the league were motivated by racism, Walker said. And
even if racial bias were shown, the judge said, Sprewell failed to
demonstrate "a public policy that specifically militates against
suspension of an employee who violently attacks his employer."
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
San Francisco agreed Tuesday with Walker, who said the arbitrator
had reasonably concluded that Sprewell's punishment was authorized
by the union contract.
"We are obviously pleased with court's decision and trust that
this will finally bring an end to these allegations," said Rick
Buchanan, the NBA's vice president and general counsel.
According to witnesses at Sprewell's arbitration hearing, the
all-star guard grabbed Carlesimo around the neck and threatened to
kill him. After they were separated and Sprewell left the floor to
shower and change, he returned and, according to witnesses, punched
Carlesimo and threatened him again.
The Warriors initially suspended him for 10 games, then
terminated the last three years and $24 million of his contract.
The league increased the suspension to a year. But arbitrator John
Feerick, after a lengthy hearing, ruled the punishment excessive
and ordered Sprewell reinstated. He was later traded to the New
York Knicks.
Sprewell said the 68-game suspension cost him $6.4 million in
salary. His suit sought the return of $5.4 million as well as
additional damages.
He argued that his punishment was not authorized by the league's
union agreement, and he accused NBA investigators of destroying
interview notes and doctoring evidence.
The suit's main racial discrimination claim noted that Phoenix
Suns forward Tom Chambers, who is white, was not suspended for
punching an assistant coach a few weeks before Sprewell, who is
black, attacked Carlesimo.
The arbitrator examined the Chambers incident and others cited
by Sprewell and found that differing punishments were based on the
seriousness of the offense, not the race of the player, the judge
said.
The appeals panel also upheld Walker's demand that Sprewell's
lawyers pay $153,000.
Walker told the lawyers to pay $113,000 to the NBA's lawyers for
their costs of defending against the suit, $35,000 to the Golden
State Warriors' lawyers for defense costs and $5,000 to the U.S.
District Court in San Francisco for "this waste of judicial
resources."
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NBA tells Sprewell to watch what he says
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